It’s been a while since Iowa State has had a successful season in the Big 12. And by “a while,” I mean at least a dozen years.

The last time Iowa State had a .500 record in the Big 12 was 2005, when the Cyclones stormed out to a 7-3 record to start the year before blowing a fourth quarter lead at Kansas, ruining Iowa State’s shot of playing for a Big 12 Championship.

And if you want to find a season where Iowa State did better than .500 in the Big 12, you have to go back to 2000. The 2000 Cyclones finished 9-3 (5-3 Big 12) and won the Insight Bowl.

But this season, Iowa State has the talent to compete with just about anyone in the conference. 2017 is Iowa State’s year to steal some wins in the Big 12. Coach Matt Campbell and the players on the team have noticed the change in talent and effort, too.

“I think the biggest thing is we’re to the point where [detail] is what [caused the loss],” Campbell said after the recent loss to Iowa. “It wasn’t effort. We didn’t quit. You didn’t see us give the game away. You’re in the position where it is now details.”

Last year, Iowa State went 2-7 in Big 12 play. Three of those seven losses were decided by one possession, and Iowa State held a double-digit fourth quarter lead in two of them (Baylor and Oklahoma State).

As it turns out, the difference between 4-5 and 2-7 is slim, and if Iowa State hadn’t collapsed in those two games, a bowl game wouldn’t have been out of the question in year one of the Matt Campbell era. I’d be willing to bet that the perception of Iowa State right now would be quite different if the Cyclones had gone 5-7 last year rather than 3-9.

The Cyclones piled up an average of 440 yards per game during Big 12 play last year and the defense gave up 478. Want to look at points? Iowa State scored 265 during conference games last year (29.4 per game) and allowed 299 (33.2 per game).

So while Iowa State was getting outgained and outscored, the margins were extremely slim — getting outscored by an average of fewer than three points per game is not representative of a 2-7 team.

For the sake of comparison, Texas Tech (5-7, 3-6 Big 12) was outscored 341-392. So even though the Red Raiders had a better record than Iowa State, they got beat by more points — 37.9 versus 43.6 per game, or nearly a full touchdown difference.

Iowa State could win three or four more Big 12 games this season with a little more luck. That’s not even accounting for teams like Texas and Baylor, who seem to have dropped considerably since a year ago when they beat Iowa State.

That leads me to my most important point — anyone who watched the first three games of this year compared to the first three games of last year is fully aware of how much the Cyclones have improved.

When Iowa State walked out of Akron, Ohio, with a 41-14 win over the Zips, Iowa State wasn’t satisfied. I never thought I would see a day where Iowa State isn’t happy after a 27-point road win.

“The detail that it takes to be really successful, we’re not there yet,” Campbell said after the Akron game. Campbell credited his team for a strong second half, but that wasn’t good enough for him and the other coaches.

“If we’re only going to play a half, then it’s going to be a long year,” Campbell said. “The fact of the matter is, this team must get better… I think there is a lot of growth you still see in our football program but today’s not good enough.”

Jacob Park, David Montgomery and the rest of the offense lit up a strong Iowa defense to the tune of 41 points. That same Iowa defense held Wyoming and North Texas to a combined 17 points in Iowa’s other two games this season.

If Iowa State plays like it has the first three weeks of the season, a 5-4 record (or better) in the Big 12 isn’t off the table. Kansas, Texas Tech and Baylor are all winnable. The upcoming game against Texas on a Thursday night in Ames will be a toss-up. And even though Kansas State has won its last nine games against Iowa State, eight of them have been decided by one possession. The Cyclones could steal a win there.

In the end, the difference between 5-4 and another 2-7 season could be just a handful of plays. If the Cyclones can play like they have in the first three weeks, Iowa State could be looking at its first winning record in the Big 12 since 2000.